How good is your organizing page?

Unions at all levels must encourage new member outreach and local union growth.

We do many things at UCOMM; writing and editing, professional emails, bulk texts, we coordinate messaging campaigns, create and produce ads, conduct media outreach, manage social networks, offer advise on political angles and of course - website design. As organized labor’s unofficial online troublemakers, we have a pretty good handle on how to get the message out quickly and effectively. We’re charged with many altering tasks but one task that we’ve never deviated from is supporting new member organizing.

All UCOMM sites have an organizing page with helpful information for the eager at-will worker looking to better their work life. These pages have the basic rules for organizing, helpful hints, graphics with the union advantage and an online submission form to get in touch with a union organizer. That’s where we come in. When we get an inquiry from an organizing page, we respond immediately. It’s called a “Hot Shop,” and a returned email and phone call must take place right away. We recently had an inquiry and within minutes we responded with an email, within an hour a phone call was made and within a few days the initial first meeting took place. An authorization card was signed.

All across this nation, working people are organizing. We have even developed issue-specific websites to support organizing drives. We are told by the mainstream media that union membership numbers are down; so why are we constantly reporting organizing victories on UCOMM Blog? Organized labor’s culture must change from a service model to an organizing and activist model if we’re going to survive Trump’s ‘Merica. A good organizing page on your union’s website is a good start. - Kris LaGrange. originally published on UCOMM Blog.